Romeo
by GreenEmeraldGirlxoxo
Summary: On Haitus... Read through the eyes of an unlikely observer the eventual romance of Natsu and Lucy. How their feelings confused him, how he tried to understand his own feelings. During this time period, it's hard to tell how watching others fall in love will affect one's own feelings. NaLu
1. Chapter 1

**I'd just like to briefly touch on the fact that despite this being in a first person POV, and Romeo's for that matter, I hope it's good. Enjoy.**

**Couples: NaLu and RoWen**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

**XXX**

The purple flame licked the edges of my hand, as I turned it into a ball and threw it up into the air like a fascinating toy. The guild was quieter than usual, but I stayed entertained with my game.

It seemed like everything was back to normal again once Natsu and the rest returned after seven years. I'd also thought it was odd to see them still so young whereas everyone around me continued to age.

"Romeo," my father began, sliding up next to me, "is something troubling you?"

I shook my head, extinguishing the flame. I didn't want to tell him I was afraid of Natsu and the other not returning again, so I kept it to myself. "I'm fine."

He opened his mouth prod further, but after a moment of silence, he nodded sulkily and sighed.

I traced the pattern on the wooden bench, sliding my finger up and down the indent. I wrapped my free hand around the edge of the bench and leaned back. Firmness from the table supported my back, and I closed my eyes for a second. Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I remembered what it was like before Natsu disappeared. He'd always been my hero, and still was, but now, it felt like I couldn't talk to him anymore. Those seven years, as much as I hated to admit, are nearly costing me a friend.

"We're back!" Natsu yelled, throwing open the guild doors. I peeled my eyes open and grinned. Happy was perched on the top of his head, his tail dangling near Natsu's shoulder. Lucy stood a little to his left, inching towards Levy. Gray, Erza and Juvia had yet to come back from their mission.

"Natsu-nii!" I greeted, launching myself across the room. Natsu mused my hair, his smile widening.

"Hey, Romeo, how've ya been?" He asks, steering me towards the bar. Happy flew off, probably in search of Charle.

I shrugged, finding it hard to straighten out my features, "Great! I've practiced more with my yellow flame."

He wrinkled his nose, "Why that one?"

Laughing, I answered, "It's the most fun to use in a battle."

Natsu's grin was back, "Now we're talking!" He sat down, waving his hand for a drink. Kinana slid a drink down the length of the bar, which he picked up and took a big gulp from.

We were silent, for a longer amount of time than I would have guessed and Natsu frowned for a moment.

"What are you two brooding about?" Lucy took the empty seat next to Natsu, bumping him with her shoulder.

"Nothing, Lucy-nee," I say, a little bemused by their interaction. Right after she bumped him, he playfully hit her arm, his hand skimming down her arm.

Natsu chuckled, "Yeah, Lucy, just having a man to man conversation." Lucy laughed a little herself and smiled at me.

"Is that so? Don't mind me then," She went to stand, and Natsu watched her with a closed expression. What was happening? Natsu and Lucy always got along so well, so why the distance now?

I spoke up, "Ah, Lucy-nee, you can stay if you'd like." Natsu glanced at me, surprised, as if he'd forgotten I was there. I mustered a smile.

"Well…" Lucy began, licking her lips, looking between Natsu and I. She locked eyes with Natsu and it was like an unspoken conversation happened between the two of them. "Alright." She sat back down, crossing her legs.

To change the awkwardness in the air, I mentioned how well I was improving with my magic, and immediately roped Natsu into the conversation. Lucy watched the two of us talk with a careful expression, making sure to equally watch me and him. Although I had the feeling she wanted to watch him more.

"Romeo, it's getting late, we should go home," My father announced, approaching us. The heated debate between Natsu and I ended abruptly about the easier way to take out an enemy with fire magic, once dad appeared.

I got down from my seat, "Okay." Natsu and Lucy waved as I walked beside dad, and I briefly heard the rest of their conversation.

"Come on, Lucy, I'll walk you home."

"You don't need to do that!"

"I'm walking you home." I glanced back and saw he had hauled her off the stool and was holding her hand. Lucy's face was going red. Was she sick?

"Fine." Natsu retrieved Happy and the two of them shared an odd look. Then dad led me out, forcefully ending my snooping.

That night, as I lay in bed staring blankly at the roof, I wondered. I thought about how weird they had been recently. How they have clipped conversations. Come to think of it, doesn't Natsu almost always walk Lucy home? I couldn't quite grasp what they really were. I knew they were best friends, but lately, like my previous thoughts confirmed, something was seriously different.

I rolled over, how I wish I were older to understand them.

**XXX**

"Oi, Romeo, I have a surprise for you!" Natsu called, grinning. He settled next to me.

Returning his grin, I say, "Oh yeah? What is it?"

"I was talking to Macao and I convinced him to let you come on a mission with me, if you want, that is." Natsu scratched the back of his head.

My eyes widened, "Are you serious? Just the two of us?"

His grin turned sheepish, "Not exactly. Macao didn't agree unless Lucy came with us, and Lucy wanted to invite Wendy."

Well that was a bummer. I wanted to have some guy time with Natsu. I guess it wasn't such a big deal; dad was just looking out for me.

"Did you want to come? Maybe I can convince Macao to let just us go…"

I shook my head, "No it's awesome! The four of us can go. It'll be fun."

Natsu brightened considerably. "Great!" He cupped his hand around his mouth and yelled, "Lucy, come here!"

"Where are we going?" I asked, waving at Lucy and Wendy as they approached.

Natsu yanked out the flyer from his back pocket and spread it out on the table. "Our client wants us to hunt down a man who kidnapped his daughter."

Lucy looked over Natsu's shoulder at the paper, "Four hundred thousand jewels? So much?" He chocolate brown eyes were wide.

"One hundred thousand for each of us…" Wendy muttered, standing shyly next to Lucy. I realized for the first time, with an almost sinking feeling, that I had never spoken to Wendy before.

"I can pay my rent and have money left over!" Lucy exclaimed, fingering the edges of the paper.

The fire mage smirked, "I figured you'd be happy about that Lucy."

She tried to smother her blush, but I caught the slight pink tinge to her cheeks.

"It doesn't look like it's that hard of a mission." I spoke up.

Lucy shook her head, "No, I wouldn't say that. The flyer says the man has escaped custody even before they could cuff him. He's tricky to catch. I wouldn't be surprised if it took us a few weeks." Wendy nodded in agreement.

"Oi! Lucy! With me there it should only take us a day!" Natsu protested. I watched, and briefly saw the stellar spirit mage touch his hand. Were they always touching in some way?

Wendy laughed nervously, "It sounds like it's going to be a fun mission."

I couldn't help but smile at her reassuringly, "With Natsu-nii, you can never be sure of anything. But I'm sure we'll have fun." Wendy beamed at me, and then her expression shied. It was… cute. What the hell am I thinking?

Natsu and Lucy bickered for another few minutes, before Lucy sighed and sat down in between the two of us, her leg bumping his.

He leaned back, his fingers brushing against Lucy's back. "Be prepared you guys, we head out in the morning!"

**So that was chapter one! What did you think? I hope you liked it! Review!**

**~Emerald~ **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two! Also, I got twitter. Go there to see updates on what I'm working on ;) Emmy_roxlove**

**Couples: NaLu and RoWen**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

**XXX**

That night, I packed a small bag, with a change of clothes and some hygienic products. Once I was done with that, I dropped down onto my bed, resting my eyes for a minute. I couldn't figure out what the deal was between Natsu and Lucy, after all, touching was not the norm, right?

Ah what the hell do I know? I thought, rolling over. It didn't matter, it wasn't my business. I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. I was late. Barely having time to change into a new outfit; I was scurrying out of my house.

At the guild, Natsu, Lucy and Wendy were waiting for me. Natsu, of course, was arguing with Lucy, about something trivial. Something about him sleeping in her house. No big deal.

"Good morning," I greeted, and was completely ignored by the older mages.

"G—good morning, Romeo-san," Wendy responded, gripping her dress tightly. I shot her a grin.

I walked up to the two, and held out my hands, "Alright, alright let's go already, Natsu-nii, Lucy-nee." They glared at each other for a moment, then sighed, turning to me, all set.

**XXX**

Natsu stared at the train in utter contempt, "I hate this." I stifled my laugh.

Lucy ignored him completely, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket, dragging him onto the train. I offered to take Wendy's luggage, but she denied, holding a firm grip on her case. Happy flittered next to Charle, chattering about the consistency of fish.

We found Natsu and Lucy almost immediately, as he was protesting about the seats. He was complaining they were too hard and refused to sit on them. I had the pleasure of seeing Lucy punch him in the gut, knocking him to the ground. She carelessly hefted him up onto the bench, sitting next to his head, crossing her legs angrily.

"Lucy-san…" Wendy trailed off helplessly, not knowing what to say. I had to agree with her.

Awkwardly, I sat down, shoving my stuff under the seat. Wendy sat next to me.

Lucy muttered something under her breath, and the train lurched forward.

"Kill me," Natsu moaned, and Happy patted his head.

"Be strong, Natsu-nii," I encouraged, and Lucy shot me an irritated glare.

"Don't give him sympathy!"

"You're so mean Lucy," Happy says, cheerfully. The Stellar Spirit mage turned her glare onto the cat.

Wendy spoke tentatively, "What did he do to make you so mad, Lucy-san?"

"I woke up with this idiot," she paused to give him a well-aimed punch to the arm, "tangled in my sheets."

"With you?" I ask, without thinking.

"Obviously!" She exploded. "He took up all the bed!" I supressed a laugh; tightly pressing my lips together to keep sound from escaping. I could tell Wendy was having the same problem as me from her slightly red face.

Charle spoke for the first time, "Does anyone know how long it'll take to get to Bosco?"

"A day or so of journeying," Lucy answered, seemingly calmer.

Happy leapt over to her, offering her a fish, "I have this for you, Charle." She didn't even look at it. Harsh.

"Ugh, nrgh, stop," Natsu moaned, pale.

"Is he going to be alright?" I ask wearily, reconsidering my previous idea that he would be fine.

"He's always like this, stop worrying." Lucy leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes. I purse my lips for a moment, and then shrug. I press my cheek against the window, staring blankly at the passing scenery.

I must have dozed off at some point, as when my eyes opened, Lucy had somehow ended up curled against Natsu's side. And he had somehow been sat up, but had long since passed out from sickness. They're pinkies were hooked.

Then I felt the wait on my own shoulder. I was shocked to see blue hair brushing against my cheek. Wendy? Whatever. We're guild mates, it shouldn't have shocked me at all.

Charle was laying on top of Happy, the lights in the train dim. It was night. I felt pretty stupid for just noticing it was night now. Wow, I must have been really tired or really zoned out.

Carefully, I shifted my position, hoping not to stir Wendy. When I didn't wake her, I sighed with relief.

With my cheek pressed against the window, I gazed out at the darkness. It must have been fairly cold out; I could feel my cheek frosting over. Not that it really bothered me all that much.

"Ngh, Lucy…" Natsu muttered in his sleep. My eyes shot over to them. Natsu, despite being ill with motion sickness and completely passed out, was drooling and saying her name.

"Natsu…" Lucy breathed in her own sleep. The hell? Then her soft expression hardened, and she _punched _him in his sleep. My jaw feel open from shock. "Get out of my bed!" She was so loud I was afraid Wendy would wake up. She didn't, much to my surprise.

The flame dragon slayer hit the floor, and groaned. Lucy sprawled out on the bench, her eyes fluttering for a moment but remained closed.

My eye twitched, horrified. I couldn't believe my eyes. Did that really just happen? I thought about it for a moment longer then had to stifle my laugh. Yes, it did.

**XXX**

The train lurched to a stop at the main station in Bosco. "Wah, we're here already?" Wendy exclaimed. She was perched on the edge of the seat, down the bench from me.

Let me rewind, when she awoke earlier, she flushed, apologized repeatedly and scooted away. Natsu hadn't moved from the position he'd gotten knocked into, and Lucy had been crossed legged with her foot on his spine. Apparently she was still mad at him for before.

"Romeo, can you assist Natsu?" Lucy asks, stretching. I winced as she stepped on him and over. She had her pink suitcase in hand, with Natsu's hooked onto it as well.

"Did you break his spine, Lucy?" Happy asks, nonchalantly and soars from the cabin, Lucy hot on his trail, dragging the bag of clothing behind her.

"You damn cat!" She screeched, and was gone. I shook my head and handed Wendy her luggage. She took mine, by her request as I had to get Natsu.

I stared at her wearily, "Are you sure?" She nodded. So I gave it to her. Charle looked at me oddly and followed Wendy out.

Heaving Natsu onto my back was more of chore than it was worth. First of all, he weighed a ton, and second of all, he was like twice my height. Not that I was complaining, really.

When I finally lugged Natsu off the train, Lucy was tapping her foot. I did notice Happy was in her arms, crying. I wonder what she did to him. "Come on, come on, it's time to go meet the client! Then I can pay my rent!" She looked at me. "Put him down, he'll be fine in a minute."

I dropped Natsu to the ground, taking my bag back from Wendy. Natsu would be fine, according to Lucy's logic, and she did travel with him a lot, so I listened.

Like she predicted, Natsu was up and raring to go. Not before he cried out, "I'm never riding in a train again!" Then he glared at Lucy, "You could have gotten me off the ground."

"Punishment." They glared at each other, before he sighed.

Okayyy… Natsu took their bags from her and stormed off. Happy flew with him, and landed on his shoulder.

"Are they always like this?" I ask Wendy as we follow the older mages.

"More often than not," Wendy responds, which elicits a laugh from me. By this time, Lucy's summoned Plue and was cuddling him as she walked.

"Hurry up you two!" Lucy tilted her head back, smiling cheerfully at us.

I shrugged and caught up to her with Wendy and Charle at my side.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek for a minute, "Why are you so mad at Natsu-nii?"

"He's an idiot," Lucy answers, not taking her eyes off his back. I had a feeling that wasn't the real answer.

**XXX**

"Please, find my daughter, please," The man begged, sobbing into Lucy's shirt, pressing his face against her breasts.

As soon as we'd rung the bell to the mansion, the man pathetically sobbing here launched himself into the comfort of Lucy's arms. She stood there rigidly, unsure what to do in this situation.

Natsu ripped the man off her, "Oi…" He held him by the collar.

"Are you the wizards here to save my daughter?" He choked out, rubbing his face.

"Ah, yes," Wendy intervened, her words smothering the murderous look on Natsu's face.

I nudged the dragon slayer and he stepped back, crossing his arms.

"Come in, then. I'll tell you what I know." He led them in, still sniffling, and he rattled off his name. I _think_ he said Derek, but I don't speak snivelling crybaby.

Derek sat us down in his den. I glanced around at the spacious room, filled with antiques and novels. Burgundy wall coverings and the floors were a dark hard wood.

"So who exactly is this wizard?" Lucy asked, getting straight to the point.

Derek frowned, "Well, he was an employee here before I found out he was a criminal from the kingdom with a huge bounty on his head. He's extremely powerful, I found that out when he attacked me and kidnapped my daughter." Derek rubbed his eyes, "I went to the kingdom for more information, to enlist help from the Rune Knights, but I was denied. So I sent requests for almost every guild in Earthland and you're the only one who responded. Thank you."

"Awesome! Let's go kick some ass then!" Natsu jumped up, but Lucy shook her head, yanking him down.

"Something's not right with your story, sir. You're offering thousands of jewels for this mission and we're the only ones taking it?"

She was right. During his story, I couldn't help but question it as well.

Derek squirmed, clearly uncomfortable.

"Tell us, or we're leaving," Lucy said forcefully, crossing her arms.

"Fine." He swallowed. "Lesser guilds took on this job before, and when the team came with beautiful women, those women disappeared and so far only one man has come back, saying the rest of his team was wiped out." Derek stared at the wall. "I understand if you refuse this mission. You have two very beautiful girls on your team."

"Thank you," Happy says, earning a look from Charle. Wendy blushed and Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"This wizard cannot be working alone."

"It doesn't matter. We'll kick their asses and get the jewels," Natsu said with a fierce determination in his voice. Still, even with Natsu on our team, I was still uneasy about this mission.

"Alright." Lucy glared at Derek once again. "Anything else you want to tell us?"

Derek twiddled his thumbs, "According to the man who came back, this wizard's been known to nullify magic of elemental base. Like water, earth, air and fire. He said that their Celestial Spirit user was only able to summon one spirit at a time for minutes."

Well shit. That threw off the whole dynamic of the team. I used fire based magic, so did Natsu as he was the fire dragon slayer, Wendy used sky dragon slayer magic and Lucy was a Celestial spirit mage.

I nervously exchanged glances with the group.

"This won't be a problem, will it?" Derek asked.

"No," Natsu says, "we've handled worse." Lucy's false face of being tough and mean dropped. She fingered her key ring, and Natsu lightly punched her head. "We'll be fine. We're heading out. We'll bring back your daughter, I promise."

**XXX**

Lucy shivered, inching closer to the fire mage. "It's cold."

"Are you sure you're not just scared?" Happy questions.

"I would never be scared of this!" Lucy protested, shooting the blue cat a half-hearted glare.

"Good, because you'd be safe anyway. The wizards only kidnapping beautiful women."

A tick appeared on Lucy's head, and Wendy and I stepped back for safety precautions.

"You damn cat!" She lunged for him, but was stopped by Natsu who swung his arm around her waist. He flipped her over his shoulder, holding her legs in place.

"Shut up, that wizard could appear at any moment and we wouldn't know." That was harsh coming from Natsu.

Lucy, of course, was unfazed by it and beat at his back with her fists. "Let me down then!" Her face was bright red. "Stop touching my ass!"

"They like each other." Happy rolled his 'l' and glanced at Charle, "I'll protect you." She rolled her eyes and didn't say anything more.

"I must admit, I didn't think the entertainment would be this good on a mission with Natsu-nii and Lucy-nee."

Wendy giggled, "It's quite a show, Romeo-san."

"Just call me Romeo," I told her. "We don't need such formal honorifics, we're nakama." She blushed.

"Okay."

Just when I was about to say something more, something to add, Natsu put Lucy down, who in turn smacked his arm.

"I didn't see on purpose!" Natsu defended. What on Earthland were they talking about?

Her face was beat red, "P—pervert!"

"I didn't mean too!" Natsu exclaimed, going a bit pink himself. "Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I've seen them! You always wear such short skirts! It's your fault!"

Ah… he saw her underwear. This was a new development, him having _seen _her panties before. I chuckled softly and Wendy shook her head a bit.

Then, what happened next I could barely even describe. It was as if thousands of ninja's rained down on us, the sky having gone black with their outfits. Before I knew it, black cloth was tied over my eyes, blocking my vision. I was gagged and hogtied. Jeez, if they were going to treat me like this they should have at least taken me out for dinner first.

I kicked over, and I felt the air leave my lungs. I couldn't summon my magic. Shit!

Someone yanked me up, hooking their arm under my waist. What the hell? I struggled, screaming obscenities.

A rag or something was pressed against my nose and boy did it burn. My mind went black as I passed out.

**XXX**

"Romeo, wake up, _Romeo_." Somebody was shaking my shoulder gently.

"Ngh, what?" I blinked, forcing my eyes open. Lucy was bent over me, worriedly checking over me to see if I was okay. I was lying on the floor in a dank cell; a gross mattress lay near me, with a matted piss covered blanket on top. It smelt musky and moldy.

"Are you okay?" She asks, helping me sit up. I rubbed my throbbing head.

"What happened?" Lucy shook her head, and then I noticed the chain around her ankle. It was cuffed up to the wall. I had a similar chain on my own ankle.

I tried to summon my magic, once again and felt nothing. I looked at Lucy helplessly and she shook her head again.

"Welcome to my humble abode, ladies," A man said, stepping from the shadows.

Ladies…?

I remembered what Derek told me hours ago, _lesser guilds took on this job before, and when the team came with beautiful women, those women disappeared and so far only one man has come back, saying the rest of his team was wiped out._

Beautiful women…

.

.

.

_WOMEN_?!

"I'm a guy!"

**Haha, poor Romeo. I wonder how those guys confused him for a girl. Stay tuned to find out! See you next time! Review and ciao!**

**~Emerald~ **


	3. Chapter 3

**Pairings: **Natsu x Lucy and Romeo x Wendy. Others will be unlocked as we go.

**Timeline: **After the seven year arc, before Grand Magic Games arc.

**Warnings: **None other than mild cursing and violence. And um… I'm uping the rating for just the story for some of the content that happens in this chapter. It will be rated M from now on, but I'm pretty sure, this'll happen once. So it's only M as a precaution for the story and there will be NO lemons at all. But in this chapter there is sexual content, so yeahh. If it makes you uncomfortable, skip over it. I warned you.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fairy Tail

**Authors Note:** And like I knew, everyone was like, WTF how could that guy not tell Romeo was a dude? All will be revealed, all in good time.

**XXX**

I glared up at the man, who assumedly was nullifying bastard, and he returned my glare levelly. If I wasn't paying close attention, I wouldn't have notice Lucy subtly shift further in front of me.

He reached in through the bars, yanking me roughly away from Lucy, slamming my face against the hard metal. His cold blue eyes seared into mine as he prods my face. "Yes… you don't seem to be a female."

"No shit." I spit in his face. He stumbles back, disgusted. As if my freaking outfit choice didn't give it away! I mean, if I'm a chick, I'm one steroid induced babe.

"You'll pay for that." He snarled, snapping his fingers. Two men dropped down from the ceiling next to him. "Which one of you morons picked _this _one up?" He pointed at me when he said this.

I gave them the finger, and Lucy shot me a warning glare. I ignored it though. I had a right to be pissed off! I was a _guy_ and mistaking me for a girl is just stupid!

"T—that would be me, sir," The shorter ninja stuttered. He whirled on him, forcing the ninja against the wall, his forearm pressing into his neck. "Myou?" The ninja chocked out.

"How could you mistake this boy for a beautiful woman?" Hey, I think I'm pretty hot, if I do say so myself.

"I—I thought he was the blue haired girl! There wasn't enough time to check! It's not like I felt 'her' up like Hidou did!" Lucy stiffened, inching further away from the metal bars. They would have felt Wendy up? They _felt _up Lucy? Natsu was going to kill them! Still, his answer seemed like a load of bullshit.

Myou let go of the short ninja, pointing at the other one, "How _dare_ you touch my bride!" Hidou flinched away, trying to articulate a sentence.

"Bride?" Lucy squeaked, brown eyes wide. It's the first time she's spoken since the arrival of the jackass here. The two ninja's took this time to disappear.

He turned his sickly grin on Lucy, "Yes my darling, each woman who comes into my home becomes my beloved wife. You however, I feel will be my favourite." Lucy shuddered, glaring at him.

I could see she was scared, she was shaking, "I will never be your bride!"

"I think you'll find I can be very persuasive," Myou purrs, and I feel whatever contents left in my stomach rise up.

"I won't let you touch my nee-san!" Lucy glances at me, and I hope she takes the hint and plays along. Thankfully, she says nothing.

His grin shifts into a sneer, "Oh, you're her little brother? I don't see much resemblance."

"I take after our father." Think fast, Romeo, think! "She has a husband already!"

This time, surprise flickers across her face. Myou doesn't notice, his attention solely on me. "Who?" His black hair is starting to turn red. What the hell?

"The pink haired guy with us. I'll bet he's coming to save us right now!" Please don't kill me Lucy… I'm just trying to buy us time! I'm pleading with my eyes.

"That's right! He'll definitely come and save us." She's so pissed off.

Myou spoke after a moment, "And trade the blue haired girl for this one? I've never had a child before." Eugh. He's despicable.

"I won't let you touch her," I snarl.

Lucy's eyes were mocking me as she spoke, "That's right; my little brother will do anything to protect his girlfriend." Yeah—wait, what? I think I'm blushing.

Myou was silent, and then said, "If your precious husband isn't here within the hour, I'll make you forget him." He left. I waited till I heard a door shut before turning to Lucy.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to buy you some time," I blurt out.

Lucy glares at me, and then she deflates, "Its fine, it worked didn't it?" She grimaced, "But why did I have to be his wife?"

"Better than nothing." We stay quite. Lucy fingers her keys and her eyes widen.

"We don't need him! I can summon a spirit!" She says excitedly.

"Lucy-nee, Myou neutralizes Celestial Spirit user's magic," I remind her, leaning against the wall. If dad catches wind of this, he might never let me go on another mission again.

She snubbed what I said and pulled out a key, "I only need him for a short amount of time." Lucy holds it out, "Open the gate of the Lion! Leo!" Loke appears in front of us, pushing up his glasses.

"What do you need me to do, Lucy?" He glances at her and immediately breaks the chain on her leg. He does the same to me. Already I can see Lucy sweating from exertion.

"Break the bars!" She commands, and he does. I watch the metal fly, splintering into miniscule shards. Although even Loke is panting. The nullification works on spirits too, I see.

Before either of them can say anything, Loke returns to the stellar spirit realm and Lucy struggles to stay seated.

I quickly move to her side, helping her up. "I told you this would happen." She grins weakly. Her blonde bangs were plastered to her forehead from how tired she was.

Lucy gets to her feet with my aid, as I shift her onto my back, she mutters. "We're wizards; we have magic for a reason. If we just sat there, I'd never forgive myself for not doing something."

I'm jogging, searching for the stairs. If Lucy's magic was this easily lessened, I would have to save up mine for the big confrontation with Myou. Besides, I wasn't about to just stand around.

Briefly, as I climb the staircase, I think what Natsu's reaction would have been if he'd been here to see what I said. Nah, he probably wouldn't have understood it.

Dammit! The doors locked and Lucy's slipping in and out of unconsciousness. Counting my blessings, I back up as far as possible before I would fall and kick the door. Nothing. I kick it again. Again. Again.

Finally, it flies off its hinges, and I'm panting. Where is everyone? I get a sickly feeling in my stomach this is all a trap. But I would be strong for Lucy regardless. I risk a glance back, and see she's barely awake at this point. What if nullifying wasn't all to this wizard? What if he can do something else?

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" I'm swept off my feet, sliding across the floor into a pedestal. Lucy's suspended in the air, from what? I don't even know. But I can see she's clawing at her throat. All I can hear is my pounding heart and the blood sloshing through my skull.

I'm in so much pain right now, and I shouldn't have been. The hit wasn't that hard, but yet it felt as if it were intensified tenfold. I have to help Lucy, I have to save her.

Clawing at the floor is doing nothing to get me closer to the blonde; my back feels as if a bunch of monsters had just run across it.

"I gave you a chance," he snarls. His voice booms across the vast entry way, and I sense a tremor run down my spine. My hands are shaking. I'm scared. "And here you are destroying my home. My wives were sleeping peacefully upstairs, and now, look what you've done!" At least ten women stand in the archway, their eyes glazed over.

This time, Myou turns his hateful gaze towards me, "I gave you a chance. And now, watch as I defile your sister." What?

Lucy's thrown so hard at the ground, it cracks, pieces flying off in all directions. She moans, and from what I can see, blood is dripping down her neck. I can't even move now, from something that bastard did.

"Don't touch her!" I scream, desperately searching for any sign of magical energy in my body.

Myou didn't even hear me, and if he did, he didn't show it. Magic crackled in the air around him.

"Please," Lucy begged, sobbing, "please don't."

Myou knelt above her, licking her neck, "I gave you a chance." He keeps repeating that damn sentence over and over again!

His hands were on her, under her shirt, in her skirt. I'm blacking out; I'm so horrified and weak.

No! I have to help! Somehow… My mind is going foggy, and I force myself to crawl. It's the most pain imaginable. The weight of the world is on my body as I lug it forward, pain searing through me. The nerves were spiked and I was hyperaware of how much I hurt.

Myou did something to Lucy that caused her eyes to widen and for her to shriek, "Natsu!"

"You're precious husband can't help you now," he purrs, and my head spins. Get over there, Romeo. Dammit, do something!

For a moment, I envisioned he was doing this to Wendy, and an anger I didn't know I possessed surged through me, and I launched myself at him. I knocked him over, but my attempts were in vain. He merely pushed me aside and continued his violation on Lucy.

Suddenly, the world slowed down, and the whole wall of the building crumbled. Natsu stood there in the debris, his expression murderous, Wendy at his side. Happy and Charle hovered overhead.

Relief flooded me, with Natsu here, we'd be just fine.

Lucy blinked; tears spilling down her cheeks, "Natsu!" When he spotted her, his expression went far beyond murderous.

"You bastard! Get your hands off her!" Flames flared around the dragon slayer as he cracked his knuckles.

They were extinguished, and Natsu was sent sprawling onto the floor.

"Oh no!" Wendy gasps, "Tenryu no—" She was pitched into the farthest wall.

"Wendy!" I yelled at the same time Charle did, trying to get to her. Blood pooled around her head. Gravity forced me down. Charle and Happy were thrown outside the building, and I couldn't see the cats anymore.

"LUCY!" Natsu roars, fighting the same gravity as I was.

"You stupid wizards," Myou spat, "I gain each and every single magic of every woman I take. I can manipulate the gravity in the room around you _and _take away your magic. You're powerless to stop me."

_Riiiiip._ Natsu's eyes widened as Myou tore off Lucy's top. The blue and white fabric flittered around the room, catching on the breeze. Despite my better judgement, I flushed.

Natsu was screaming obscenities at the man, and Lucy was pinned down, unable to save herself. Myou roughly grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, forcing her to look away from Natsu.

We had to do something, anything! I had to help Wendy and from the looks of it, Natsu was going to rip out the man's throat. The tension in the air was thick as Myou slowly pressed his lips to Lucy's.

"I'll kill you! Get your fucking hands off her!" Natsu screamed. Myou broke the kiss, and when his fingers descended onto Lucy's breast, all hell broke loose.

Everything happened in slow motion. Natsu was standing, his eyes blank. But the sneer on his mouth told a completely different story. He was prepared to kill.

Flames coated every inch of his body, the air crackling, his clothes ruffling from the sudden heat. "Karyu… no… Tekken!" Myou's eyes widened as he was thrown off Lucy, punched in the face by Natsu.

Natsu was unstoppable now, launching attack after attack onto the man. Myou was powerless to stop Natsu. As unlikely as it seemed. Myou tried everything, yet he could _not _overcome this rage Natsu controlled. Natsu would do anything to keep his friends safe, however, with Lucy; it was always a different story.

Natsu hauled Myou up in the air, still completely covered in flames. Myou was a bloody pulp; I couldn't even distinguish his features. Pure fear pulsed through Myou's body and was knocked out cold by Natsu's fist.

He tossed the lump of what used to be a man into the wall, his flames dispersing.

Swiftly, as if it almost never happened, he walked to Lucy's side, kneeling next to her. He helped her up and took off his jacket/vest, dripping it over her shoulders. He unwound his scarf and carefully tied it around Lucy. She was shivering. Natsu cradled her to his chest.

I could stand, move. Gingerly, I prodded my head and found it bleeding at my temple. Never mind, no time for that.

I ran to Wendy's side, collapsing to my knees next to her, yanking off my scarf, trying to soak up the blood.

She moaned, and I carefully lifted her head, wrapping the scarf around the blue hair. I picked her up, bridal style, turning back to Natsu.

Natsu was saying something to Lucy I couldn't hear, and she just kept her face pressed against his chest.

The women blinked, fearfully, "What's happening?" One cried. I almost forgot they were here.

**XXX**

The next few hours of my life were hell. Myou was taken into custody, as were his ninja's, and Wendy and my own wounds were treated.

Derek was reunited with his daughter, and the women were all returned to their guilds. Derek paid us our reward and left, avidly discussing things with his daughter. She didn't even appear to hear him.

We were formally thanked by the Rune Knights, but nothing they could say ever would make it up to us.

I was taught one thing from this experience of hell, I needed to get stronger. I was going to train and train hard I would.

Sitting on the train back to Fiore was hard. Natsu asked Wendy to preform Trovia on him, and despite the fact it would soon grow worse, he stayed with Lucy as best he could.

Her brown eyes stayed glazed over, all the fight from earlier completely sucked from her. Natsu was attempting to cheer her up, but from the way he clenched his fists, he was going to have a hard time getting over it himself.

Happy laid curled up in Lucy's lap, trying to be there for her. Charle did the same for Wendy.

I turned to her, smiling weakly, "Well… I guess we won't be going on a mission anytime soon."

Wendy just sighed, and lay down in my lap, closing her eyes.

"Can I just sleep, Romeo?" I nod, running my fingers gently through her long hair. She snuggled with Charle as she dozed off.

"If I ever see that bastard again, I will kill him," Natsu snarled, and I realized he was addressing me. Lucy was asleep against his side, and his arm was wrapped around her waist protectively. I hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep.

"I'll help," I say. We quiet for another moment. "Natsu-nii, when we get back, will you train me?"

Natsu's eyebrow arches, but he nods solemnly, understanding why I want his help. It would kill him inside if he couldn't protect one of his nakama, hell, it almost killed him today to witness what that bastard did to Lucy. "I will."

It was another half an hour before either of us said anything, and I knew the trovia must be losing its effect.

"Natsu-nii, I told that rat bastard you were Lucy-nee's husband," I tell him. Natsu's eyes widen, shocked and the trovia flew out of his system and he sunk against Lucy, moaning.

I scarcely heard him groan, "Good."

**Gah, sorry for this chapter. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Don't worry, I'll never do anything like that again to Lucy. But now, Natsu will be extremely protective of her and she's got a lot on her mind. Besides, if he ever sees Myou again, he'll kill him, so it's all goo. Sorry if the story is getting a little too serious, but it'll lighten up again. Eventually. Shit happens in Fairy Tail. Anyways, do as you will. Flame if you want for my treatment of Lucy. Ciao.**

**~Emerald~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Pairings: **Natsu x Lucy and Romeo x Wendy. Others will be unlocked as we go.

**Timeline: **After the seven year arc, before Grand Magic Games arc.

**Warnings: **None other than mild cursing and violence.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fairy Tail

**Authors Note:** I'm glad everyone understood what happened with Lucy, and why. But yes, she will take quite a while before she gets over it. Enjoy.

**XXX**

Running up the length of the hill seemed easy enough. That being said, it's not like you had a _freaking boulder _on your shoulders. I must have been pretty weak, because Natsu was doing the exact same exercise, but he'd been up and down the hill at least four times more than I had. Happy had himself planted at the top of the hill, munching on fish, occasionally yelling out encouraging words.

It would have been easier if there wasn't a forest growing on the side we were running on and if it wasn't like twenty feet high. I was starting to think this was a mountain, not a hill.

About a week has passed since the incident at Myou's manor, and this was the first day of training. Lucy hasn't really spoken to anyone, excluding Natsu, and that was just to tell him she was fine. He'd somehow convinced her to come with us and stay at the resort in the town over, so she could relax in the hot springs. From what I could tell, Lucy hardly ever wore anything less than a t-shirt and jeans.

Wendy stayed behind, opting to not be there with our 'guy' time and she just didn't look forward to it. I think she was still drained from the events previous.

"Stop thinking and just run!" Natsu yelled at me, and I spotted him through the thicket. Sweat rolled down him, and his clothes were plastered to his body. It looked as if someone just emptied the entire contents of a bucket of water on him. Hell, I was sweating, but not that much. Then I saw it. He had his feet engulfed in flames, and had been using magic this whole time. Wow.

I nod and got back to the arduous task of running. We still had hours to go…

**XXX**

Natsu collapsed on the futon in the resort room, panting. After the running, he told me to fight him. So, both of us half-dead and tired, we launched attack after attack at another and did that for another few hours. I was drained, physically, mentally and magically. But I wanted to get stronger, and if this is how Natsu was going to train me, so be it.

"Be prepared," Natsu says, "that was just the warm up." Shock and horror cross my face.

"W—we were just warming up?!" I exclaim, massaging my tender shoulder muscles.

Natsu nods, "Pretty much." He's on his feet and attentive when Lucy enters the room. She's wearing a long sleeved plum coloured sweater and black jeans, her hair loose and wet. She was just in the hot spring and she's wearing this?

Lucy curls up in the wicker chair in the corner, her brown eyes glazed over. Natsu offers her a water bottle, which she takes silently. He frowns, whispering something in her ear. She just shakes her head.

He purses his lips, and gently touches her shoulder. Lucy flinches, and Natsu draws back immediately.

Happy immediately takes notice of the mood and flies to rest in the chair on the other side of the room. How I wish I could escape that easily. Oh wait…

"Should we use the hot spring, Natsu-nii?" I ask, feeling awkward. Since when has Lucy flinched when Natsu touched her? Had that bastard really affected her this much? Natsu shrugs and I can't miss the hurt that sweeps across his face.

We file from the room, leaving Lucy alone. Her expression never strayed from the blank, faraway look in her eyes. I could tell Natsu had a tremendously difficult time leaving her, but if she couldn't even bare to be with him, he would leave for her sake.

I sank into the blissfully warm liquid, sighing. After a long day of working out, this was a welcomed change. I slide my fingers over the smooth water, and glance up as Natsu plunges head first into the water. Natsu, in light of what happened to Lucy, reserved a room with access to our own personal spring. It was small, but nice.

I arched my eyebrow, and waited. Minutes later Natsu burst from under the water to his feet, gasping a bit, and glared at the dark sky. His pupils were large, burning with rage.

"Dammit!" He screeched, plummeting back down into the water, crossing his legs. Natsu was pouting.

"Natsu-nii, are you worried about Lucy-nee?" I ask, mentally smacking myself. _Of course _he was worried about Lucy.

He shot me an agitated look, "Why wouldn't I be worried about Lucy?" I internally wince. He deflated, rubbing at his face. "What am I going to do?"

I didn't know how to answer him. Honestly, I didn't know what to do in general when Natsu acted with such a forlorn attitude. It wasn't like him.

Natsu slammed his head against the rock wall behind him, moaning. He pinched his eyes closed. "I just don't know what to do anymore. How can she expect me to protect her after what happened? How _can I _expect myself to protect her if I couldn't then?"

"It's not your fault?" I offered and it did little to console him. He splashed water towards me in a feeble attempt at a fight. It was almost pathetic how upset he was, not that I'd ever voice these harsh thoughts stirring beneath my sympathy.

He didn't say anything more on the subject and closed his eyes. Natsu's whole disposition reeked of a poor sap. Just what exactly did he feel for Lucy for him to act like this?

I tap my finger against my knee, letting my head fall back to gaze up at the sky. It was dark and cloudless; thousands of tiny stars splattered the backdrop. It sure was relaxing out without Dad breathing down my neck every second of the day, without the craziness of the guild hall. It's really quiet.

In fact, I'm so relaxed and dozing off, I didn't notice Natsu leave until I myself went to go. Gaping at the spot he used to occupy, I wonder when in the hell did he leave?!

Whatever. I figure if Natsu's going to wander off, he's going to wander off. No stopping it. He's just that crazy.

After forcing my aching butt out of the pool of heat, I sluggishly dragged my feet to the room. Each step was a work out of its own account, but I knew whatever the dragon slayer had planned for the next day would probably be a hell of a lot worse.

It was liked I held the freaking world up on my shoulders, as if I were Atlas or something—which thank Mavis I'm not—as I completely collapsed onto my futon. Not even caring about my current surroundings or anything, I let my brain drift me off to sleep.

**XXX**

I snapped upright, scrubbing my eyes, cursing like a sailor. What the hell was that? There I was, sleeping blissfully away like a lamb, dreaming of steak, and I'm awoken by… screaming? The screams were so horrendous that they sent shivers down my spine. It was scarier than the cackle of a demon.

I crawl across the floor to the source of the noise, despite not really functioning properly or being all that awake. Hell was the floor warped or I was I just drunk?

Peeling back the paper door, I peered into the room with minimal lighting through a small crack. It was pretty bare, a gas lamp next to the futon, some potted plants—oh you don't want to know of the aesthetics room?

Lucy thrashed about in her sheets, shrieking. I could scarcely make out the words she cried, "No… stop…!" Tears streamed down her face, blotting the pillow beneath her head. Although, a lot of it appeared to be sweat rolling down from her hairline. Her face was flushed.

Natsu leapt from his futon over to hers, finally waking from the sound. Wait, he was sleeping in Lucy's room?

He gently, intimately almost, gathered her into his arms. He rocked her back and forth, muttering something I couldn't quite catch over her screams. No, the screams had turned into flat out blubbering.

She calmed down eventually; say ten minutes after the rose coloured haired man sat there holding her. Lucy's brown eyes sprang open and she threw her arms about his neck, sobbing into his chest. He rubbed circles on the small of her back.

I got the feeling I shouldn't be looking. But it was like a train wreck, you were just unable to look away. Lucy pulled back and blindly brought herself to him, pressing her lips to his. That's it, I'm done.

I carefully close the door and slip back into bed. Sleep was irrelevant now, I wouldn't be able to sleep with those images—sounds—in my head.

Lucy… kissed… Natsu… Whether she was conscious of the fact or not, she still did it. It was weird to think about it. Actually… kind of gross.

I rolled over. What did I just see? Ah man, now I my heads all fucked up and they're in the other room sucking face. I need to sleep, or bleach my eyes, whichever came first.

**XXX**

This time, after unfortunately thrashing about most of the night, I woke rather uneventfully to the sounds of birds. Loud birds who screeched at me from their perches on the rocks. Well, personally I don't think their hate was aimed at me, just the human race in general.

Natsu strolled into the room, a laid back expression on the hard lines of his face. He seemed in a pretty good mood all things considering.

I rub my eyes, yawning, I watch as he wraps his muffler about his neck. "Ready for today?"

So he wasn't going to talk about last night… not that he caught me peeping or anything. "What are we doing, Natsu-nii?"

The man's eyes twinkled, "You'll see." I swallow. I don't like the sounds of that. Lucy's door slides open and she wobbles into the room, finding a seat. Natsu smiles at her without a care in the world and her eyes are puffy.

That's it; I am never growing up if my life is going to turn into whatever theirs is. Can't I stay thirteen forever and still gain magical energy to make me stronger than Natsu?

They stare at each other, as if I weren't here and I clear my throat. I gain only the attention of Lucy, who blinks, remembering my existence. Her face flames and I glance away. She must know I saw last night.

"Okay, Romeo, let's go." Natsu punches my shoulder and is already heading for the door. I curse and stumble out of my sheets, attempting to change and follow at the same time.

I scarcely catch it, as it's a faint whisper, but it sounded like Lucy just giggled. Slowly, painstakingly, she was returning to herself.

Natsu leads me to somewhere far past the mountain that now contained a slightly worn down path from our running. Happy flew past Natsu's head, already anticipating the dragon slayers location.

I allow my thoughts to stray, to wonder about the certain shade of blue a butterfly possessed as it flittered by. Cerulean? Sapphire? Choices…

"We're here," Natsu says as I collide with his back. _Gee, thanks for the warning._

"Where is here?" It's an empty clearing, an abandoned ancient sanctuary. Pillars are falling over in decay and vines have wrapped themselves about the stone.

"My secret training place." The dragon slayer turned to face me, grinning. "Well, come at me."

What?

**Sorry it's not much a chapter, more like an entire filler. But, I wanted to update, and I wanted to get some more Romeo inner thoughts going. (The last part with the butterfly is to show how Romeo is still growing up himself and that he's easily distracted by anything that will take his mind off the adult world.) Well, Natsu and Lucy kissed, although, pretty sure Lucy was delusional the whole time. So yeah, just some more Romeo's a thirteen year old boy thoughts and some kissing. The next chapter will be more exciting, I promise!**

**~Emerald~**


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